Hayes Had Been Teetering On 'Tightrope' Some Say Firing Of Brevard Administrator Was Inevitable But He Disagrees

April 23, 1985|By Lynne Bumpus-Hooper of The Sentinel Staff

TITUSVILLE — For some people, it was clear that Brevard County Administrator Peter Hayes would be fired after three new commissioners took office in November.

The new commissioners ''had no choice but to get rid of him,'' said former Commissioner Lee Wenner. The ''lame-duck commission'' that hired him ''went along with everything Hayes wanted,'' Wenner said.

Hayes was appointed administrator on a 3 to 2 vote in 1983 after 11 years as county health and social services coordinator and nine months as interim county administrator.

Since then, said new commission chairman Thad Altman, Hayes had been walking a ''political tightrope.''

His appointment was backed by veteran commissioners Val Steele and Gene Roberts, and Sue Schmitt, who had recently been elected to the board. The appointment was opposed by veteran Joe Wickham and newcomer Theo York.

Altman said Hayes' contract was so tightly written in Hayes' favor that the current board could not even talk to him about changes.

Hayes was fired April 8, virtually without warning at the conclusion of a regular commission meeting that dealt mostly with routine matters. Altman, York and Charlie Roberts voted for the dismissal; Andrea Deratany cast the only opposing vote. Schmitt was absent.

Hayes said Monday he didn't think his dismissal was inevitable. He said he and commissioners had disagreed over policy and goals, but they were nearing agreement.

''I looked at it kind of like a newlywed couple. There's usually six months or so of getting used to each other and making adjustments,'' Hayes said.

His dismissal and the furor that has followed the decision has provided a textbook case for students in Steven Valavanis' political science classes at Brevard Community College.

The action has sparked classroom debates on long- and short-term impacts, how taxpayer money will be used, the reaction of other county employees and the impact on the public.

According to Valavanis, administrative ''house cleanings'' are not that unusual when newly elected officials enter office. He compared Hayes' removal to what occurs nationally when a new president is elected.

''The president wants to surround himself with a team of people philosophically backing him, so he swears in a new Cabinet. It's the same thing here,'' Valavanis said.

But Hayes said that type of policy is not very effective on a local level. ''You can lose the continuity that local government needs because our problems are so much closer to home than they are on a national level,'' he said.

Change produces turmoil, Valavanis agreed, but he says turmoil may ''be a positive thing in the long run.''

Sometimes the bureaucracy and its administrators become too powerful, Valavanis said. In that case, the bureaucracy has to be checked to start new ways of dealing with a changing community.

Valavanis said that while his students have concluded that Hayes' firing is not that unusual or that uncalled for, they believe it was handled in a ''Mickey Mouse'' manner at the last moment with only limited discussion.

He said several commissioners have talked since the firing about how painful the decision was. They have said that going into detail over their reasons for dismissing Hayes would have been more painful to him, Valavanis said.

''But this is a public issue and we need to bear the pain and have the open discussion. Otherwise you get the feeling there's something they aren't telling you.''

Since the motion to fire Hayes was introduced and approved, the matter has been widely discussed in the community. However, the issue has not been discussed at any public forum and -- since Hayes says he may sue the county -- that may never happen.

Hayes apparently was dismissed for a combination of these reasons:

-- The one-year severance pay clause written into Hayes' contract by a five-member board that included three members who had either lost re-election bids or decided not to seek additional terms.

-- His failure to work with members on the commission in researching and looking at new proposals or ways of doing things

-- His personality. He is described as a sharp, intelligent, energetic man, driven to action, but almost incapable of dealing with anything ''average.''

-- ''Old wounds'' from the traumatic politi-

cal and sociological changes in Brevard County during the past 20 years.

Roberts, who called for Hayes' dismissal, said ''that sweetheart contract with the golden parachute in it insulated Hayes from us. It was the single biggest stumbling block in our working together.''

Roberts said that because of the contract commissioners could not openly criticize Hayes or call him on the carpet for not following through on their directions. Roberts said that the way the contract is written, the mere suggestion that Hayes might be fired would make the county liable for a full year's salary.